Castle · 10:00–12:30 (2h30m)
Norwich Castle
Explore the rebuilt keep rooms first, then the natural history galleries.
An indoor castle in Norwich.
Check pricesIndoors
- Good on a rainy day
Photo: Andrew Hurley from Wallasey, England, United Kingdom
Day one pairs the newly reopened Norman keep in the middle of Norwich with an easy lakeside walk on the edge of the city. Day two heads into the Broads for old boats, a short river trip and a wildlife reserve on Hickling Broad.
WeekendAll agesCost ££4 stops
Day 110:00–16:00
- 10:001
- 13:302
Park · 13:30–16:00 (2h30m)
Whitlingham Country Park
Grab lunch at the welcome centre hatch and walk the flat loop round the Great Broad.
Two broads on the south-east edge of Norwich, with a flat circuit round the Great Broad that suits buggies and scooters. A new visitor welcome centre has a takeaway cafe hatch.
FreeOutdoors- Café on site
Photo: Evelyn Simak
Day 210:00–15:00
- 10:003
Museum · 10:00–12:00 (2h)
Museum of the Broads
Under-12s go free; add a 50-minute steam or electric launch trip.
An indoor and outdoor museum in Stalham, aimed at ages 7 and up.
PaidIndoors & out- Pushchair friendly
- Baby changing
- Café on site
- Toilets
- Accessibility
- Dog friendly
Photo: Evelyn Simak
- 12:454
Wildlife · 12:45–15:00 (2h15m)
NWT Hickling Broad and Marshes
Snacks at the visitor centre, then reedbed trails or a guided wildlife boat trip.
Norfolk Wildlife Trust's reserve on the largest of the Broads, with a visitor centre, reedbed trails and guided wildlife boat trips. No dogs on the reserve except assistance dogs.
PaidOutdoors- Baby changing
- Café on site
- Toilets
Photo: norfolkwildlifetrust.org.uk
More days out in East of England
East of EnglandA farm-stay weekend on the Suffolk coast
Restaries at Paradise Farm, Westhall
Settle into a converted barn on a Suffolk farm, swim in the heated covered pool and meet the goats and alpacas, then spend a day on the coast: giraffes and lions at Africa Alive, lunch on Southwold Pier, Tim Hunkin's eccentric machines and a run on the beach. Works for toddlers through to tweens.
Restaries at Paradise Farm → Africa Alive! → Boardwalk Restaurant, Southwold Pier → Southwold Pier
WeekendAll agesCost £££
East of EnglandDunes, seals and the Wash
Hunstanton
A morning in the dunes and pinewoods at Holme, where children go free, then the seal rescue centre at Hunstanton's aquarium. The aquarium also works as the whole day if the weather turns.
NWT Holme Dunes → SEA LIFE Hunstanton
One dayAll agesCost ££
East of EnglandMarshes and a pier of peculiar machines
Lowestoft
A free wetland reserve with a play area and marsh-view cafe in the morning, then down the coast to Southwold, where the pier's Under the Pier Show is full of odd home-made coin machines. Walking the pier itself costs nothing.
Carlton Marshes Nature Reserve → Southwold Pier
One dayAll agesCost £